“Big box” retailers and cell phone companies offer a wide variety of hand-held electronic devices (cell phones, PDAs, digital cameras, digital camcorders, etc.) for sale to the general public. It is common practice to tether these devices to a display counter or similar surface in a retail store. Sometimes the tether is nothing more than a coiled cord (commonly called a “curly-Q cord”) similar to the type of coiled cord used to connect a telephone handset to the base of the telephone. It is also common to extend the tether from a reel underneath the countertop surface with the tether extending and retracting as the consumer respectively lifts and replaces a product.
Many design variations have been developed over the years for tethering electronic products to displays. These displays address common problems that include managing the tether's length, so that it does not tangle, and devising ways to facilitate swapping old products with new models off the end of the tether.
The tether is often a shielded, multi-conductor cable having one or more wires for providing power and security alarm functions. One of the problems that retail display systems need to address is that product power requirements and power jack fittings are ever-changing because of technology improvements and consumer demand.
For those systems having tethers that extend and retract, it is important that the tether retracts fully back into the countertop as the product is returned to its resting place (typically, a base mount). Different designs have been developed for accomplishing the retraction that is needed, including under-the-counter reels. In some cases, curly-Q cords have been used.
One problem with a curly-Q cord system is that the coil diameter of these cords creates a larger footprint, making it difficult for the cord to fully retract through an opening. If the opening is about the same size as the coil diameter, for example, then there is a tendency for individual coils to catch on the opening's edge. The invention described here is an improvement on the “curly-Q” type of design.
Another general problem with tethered systems relates to how the tether responds to use by consumers in the store. Frequent handling causes tangling and distortions in the cord that impact both cord wear and its ability to fully retract. The invention described here also addresses this problem.